


Poison Tree, Poison Fruit

by HollyEDolly



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AU, Aliens, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Forbidden Love, Hybrids, Military, Sci-Fi, Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-05
Updated: 2014-12-05
Packaged: 2018-02-28 07:05:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2723174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollyEDolly/pseuds/HollyEDolly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You knew!!!" she screams, tears stream down her face as she storms up to him slapping him so hard across the cheek his head is forced to the side. He feels the sting her hand leaves behind, there's sure to be a mark, she's gotten so much stronger these last few months. "You fucking bastard you knew this whole time and you didn't tell me" her voice cracks revealing her vulnerability.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poison Tree, Poison Fruit

**Author's Note:**

> I had an idea for an ongoing fic, not sure whether to carry it on or not. Let me know what you think.

"You knew!!!" she screams, tears stream down her face as she storms up to him slapping him so hard across the cheek his head is forced to the side. He feels the sting her hand leaves behind, there's sure to be a mark, she's gotten so much stronger these last few months. "You fucking bastard you knew this whole time and you didn't tell me" her voice cracks revealing her vulnerability.

He doesn't even pretend to deny it, yes he knows, he knew before he and Coulson hauled her out of her van. Knew before she even confided she was searching for answers about who she was, who her parents were. He knew her father was a monster, knew that his team lead by Phil Coulson had been tracking him and those like him for years. Truth was when they'd finally found "The Doctor's" daughter (that was the code name they'd given him) they'd assumed she'd be just like her father. They'd assumed wrongly as it turned out, that she was a monster too, that she'd be a danger.

Poisoned tree, poised fruit right? Given his own family history and knowing who his own parents were he should have known better. Skye was nothing like her father, she was kind, compassionate, loving and believed strongly in doing what was right. There was no such thing as acceptable losses or doing the wrong thing for the right reasons to her. At first he'd mistaken it for youth and naïvety but now he recognised it for what it was, bravery. It was brave to make yourself vulnerable in order to save those others would leave behind.

She challenged him, made him think and had shown him the error of blindly following every order he was given. At first he hadn't known what made him speak up for her that day in front of Coulson, why he'd put himself on the line to stop her being used as bait, he did now only he didn't want to admit it. He'd convinced his CO that Skye was an asset, that she could be a valuable member of the unit with strict monitoring and training. He'd taken on the role of her CO and though they'd started on rocky ground, they'd grown to trust one another. They'd become an inseparable duo and she had become a much loved member of an elite government unit.

Coulson had persuaded Ward that it was safer for Skye if the truth about her father was kept from her. That knowing would only cause her more pain than she'd already endured, if others knew what she was they'd turn on her. He'd agreed, the fact was that the feeling towards aliens and alien hybrids on earth since the battle of New York was toxic. If the general public knew her origins she would be locked up, the senate would demand it and even Coulson would not be able to protect her. He couldn't bear the thought of what they'd do to her, he'd seen it happen to others and it turned his stomach. 

She hits him again this time square in the chest, she's sobbing and his heart cracks wide. He wants to wrap his arms around her, to tell her it'll be ok that it doesn't matter who her father is. It's a lie though, things will never be ok, not now not ever. The reality is that lies never stay buried for long eventually the truth surfaces leaving despair in it's wake.

He holds his hands up but he doesn't stop her as she hits him over and over again, she needs to let her anger out. Her punches start to loose direction and then she collapses against him as misery finally overtakes her, he feels his eyes sting as his throat tightens. She grasps his shirt tightly, her tears soaking through the cotton as her whole body trembles with the force of her sobs.

"Why?" she almost hiccups out.

"To protect you" he answers simply, he does wrap his arms around her now, cradling her to him.

She doesn't call him a liar or lash out again, she accepts his answer but it does not quiet her. "He's a monster" 

"I know" he strokes her hair, what use is lying to her now? Her father had slaughtered hundreds of people searching for her. When it had been discovered what he was they came for him, at that point the public were in the dark about earths galactic neighbours but the governments of earth were not. The unit that were sent took the mother and child, they couldn't find "The Doctor" anywhere, assuming he'd left his family behind they took their captives back to base. The mother was questioned but refused to co-operate, the baby was looked after by lieutenant Avery. The file never detailed what happened to Skye's mother but it did state that Avery betrayed her unit, she took the baby girl and hid her, hoping to save her from those who would cut her up in the name of science. After all it became much easier to do the unspeakable when you didn't consider your captives human.

They'd been wrong about her father, when he'd discovered his wife and child were taken he snapped. Burning a whole village to the ground, then destroying the base that they had been taken too. Every soldier and agent was ripped apart, with all their training and tech they were still no match for him, it was a massacre. Even the woman who had saved his child was not spared, Avery was found dead in her cell. He'd read the file many times whilst studying her father, any unit that had crossed his path since then had been obliterated.

"People died because of me" her voice is barely a whisper.

"It's not your fault" he soothes.

"It won't matter to anyone if they find out, they'll think I'm a monster too and maybe they'd be right" she says dejected.

He raises her chin gently so that he's looking into her eyes "Then they'd be idiots Skye, you're not a monster. In fact sometimes I think you're the most human of anyone on this base, it's the rest of us I have concerns about" he admits sincerely.

He'd always believed they were the good guys, that they were protecting the human race from monsters like Skye's father. There was a flaw in the system though, anyone of anything but full human origins was automatically considered a threat. It didn't matter how they lived their life, whether they were peaceful or not, they were brought in anyway often never to be seen again. It was his job to make the hard calls, to show no mercy to these abominations as his higher ups called them. 

Since Skye had come into his life though his heart wasn't in it, he found the propaganda hard to swallow. How could tearing apart families be right? How was locking people up without cause or trial or due process just? How could they be the good guys when their presence struck fear into the hearts of every non human on the earth? 

When a small band of humans had defended their hybrid and alien neighbours they'd been branded apologists and terrorists, chased into exile or put on public trial and made examples of. How could an organisation that turned on those it vowed to protect be anything but rotten at it's core? 

There were times when he'd come close to leaving, he'd stayed only for the woman he held in his arms right now. He loved her, though he'd had to deny his feelings for both their sakes, Skye was only safe whilst she was useful and her identity secret. For now what she was was overlooked, if a relationship between the two was discovered however her usefulness would not matter. 

Human and alien relationships were strictly prohibited, for any alien or hybrid caught in such an amore the consequences were dire. Allowing any such interaction to occur between them was selfish beyond measure, the only way to protect her was to pretend his feelings did not exist. 

Right now when she's looking at him like this, with tear stained cheeks and desperation in her eyes he wants to give in. There's barely any space between them, he feels his heart rate kick up as his breathing becomes heavier. The training area she'd cornered him in was deserted and dark, he'd been about to call it a night and head to his bunk when she'd stormed in. 

She inches closer to him still sniffling slightly, her lips are so close to his he can feel her breath. His heart jumps in his chest, it sings it wants him to crush his lips to hers. When she runs her nose along his smiling weakly it's more than he can take, he doesn't pull away when her lips touch his. Instead he wraps his arms around her waist pulling her closer. She may have initiated the kiss but he's the one that deepens it, his tongue sweeping along her lower lip so that she opens up to him. He moans in the back of his throat as he pours months of want and frustration into their kiss.

For a moment he forgets where they are, forgets all the fucked up politics of this world, forgets that what they are doing is beyond forbidden. He looses himself in the taste of her kiss until a noise from the far end of the room jolts him to his senses. Stood in the doorway is his best friend Captain Antoine Triplett who coughs awkwardly.

The panic he feels is echoed on her face, she pushes away from him like his lips burnt her. 

"You two training late?" he asks knowingly.

"Skye was upset" Ward explains lamely hoping that Trip didn't see too much.

"Yeah, rough day" she adds shakily.

"Uh-huh, well maybe it's time you hit your bunk" he smiles at her kindly, Ward almost breathes a sigh of relief that it's Trip. They'd have been fucked if it were anyone else, but from the look his friend shoots him he knows he's about to get his ass handed to him.

She nods glancing over at Ward before she makes her way to the door.

"Skye...it's going to be..." he starts but trails off.

"It's OK Ward, I'll be OK" she reassures him sadly. All the fight she had had in her earlier is gone, no doubt replaced with a mixture of sadness and fear. They have no idea how much Trip really saw or what he now plans to do. She leaves quickly and as soon as she's out of hearing distance Trip grabs him throwing him against the wall.

"Are you insane" he yells "What the fuck were you thinking?!"

He shakes his head trying to come up with an answer that doesn't make him sound like an ass, but he's coming up empty. He should have known better, should have pushed her away instantly, sent her back to her bunk or left himself. He's a sergeant for gods sake, he does know better but she's his weakness and seeing her break down like that... "I...I'm a dick Trip, I shouldn't have let it happen" 

Trip releases him "you're god damn right man, do you know what they'll do to you if they find out? What they'll do to her? Do you care about her so little you'd risk her freedom like that huh? You selfish like your Jackass of a brother hmmm" he presses, only Trip, Coulson and Skye know about his family.

"I know OK, I know" he groans pushing the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"You're lucky I found you, you're even luckier there are no surveillance cameras in here. Man out in the open like this? Really are you that stupid?" Trip shakes his head a mixture of anger and pity on his face. "Please God tell me this is the only time you let this happen"

"It is" he pipes up quickly wanting to reassure his friend he wasn't a complete douche.  
Trip makes a noise of disbelief.

"I swear to god it is Trip" he looks the other man in they eye hoping he's coming across as sincere and not desperate, lord knows he feels it. He couldn't bare what they would do to her if Trip went to their superiors. 

"Awww man, OK but you make damn sure you never do anything like that again or I'm gonna knock you out my god damn self" he jabs Ward in the chest.

"You're not going to report us?" he asks with baited breath.

"No, but you know how dangerous this shit is, if they find out I knew about you it's my ass as well as yours" he points out, Ward knew the risk Trip was taking by keeping this to himself anyone else would have been straight to Coulson's office. "For the record I like Skye, I had my doubts when you took her on but the girls gold, I know you love her but you can't OK? You can't or you'll get her killed" he'd say he didn't need the reminder but clearly he did.

He hangs his head ashamed of his stupidity it was just like Trip to see through his charade, he may be able to hide his feelings from everyone else, but he and Antoine had been through thick and thin together since they were 18.

Trips granddaddy was an original member of section X (10) while Ward was a juvenile delinquent Coulson had recruited straight out of juvie, giving him the chance to turn his life around. Trip was the golden boy everyone had high expectations of, and he was the black sheep of an illustrious family that everyone had given up on. In any other reality the chances of them meeting and becoming firm friends was non-existent but that's what they were. He owed it to Trip to listen to him now.

Trip grasps his shoulder and squeezes "it's OK man, everyone fucks up just...let's forget it ever happened. I didn't see anything cos their was nothing to see, Right?"

"Right" he nods gratefully though his heart twinges painfully at the thought of having to ignore that kiss, of having to forget it.

"Come on man, I was coming to get you Mac took my record in Mortal Kombat and you know that ain't happening" he laughs in that easy sunshine way of his. He laughs back at his friend following him out of the training area to the rec room. The only reminder of her the stinging pain on his cheek and the taste of her kiss on his lips. He hates leaving her so vulnerable but for both their sakes he has no choice but too...


End file.
